Adventures on the swingset

This afternoon, Jaz's nurse/my friend Suz and I took the kids outside. My kids have been playing outside any chance it's been warm enough. Thinking back, we realized Jazmin hadn't been outside since she came here Feb 23rd. WOAH that's a long time, and even then she wasn't really outside, mostly just in the garage. Of course, you don't usually take kids with trachs and vents outside in the middle of winter anyway, but it's still a long time to be cooped up. I wish I could share the pictures of her swinging, sliding, and just soaking up the sun. It really makes me thankful for the healthy kids I have. I hope someday Jazmin will be strong and healthy enough she can run around and go down the slide by herself.

A new house in the family

Congratulations to Dan, Sarah, and Braeden on the purchase and closing of their new house! We are super excited to see it. Good luck with the painting, moving and getting situated. We wish we could help, but the kids would probably be more of a burden than a help.

You've got mail

Last evening Joel and I went for a walk with the kids. We had Jake and Kaleigh in the stroller, Ryan was walking (by choice) and both dogs on their leashes. It was lots of fun, and I'm sure people who saw us thought the same thing. We were a sight I'm sure. When we got back to our driveway, Ryan and I decided to pick up some of the soggy newspapers that have surfaced since the snow started to melt. Much to my surprise, we also found 3 Christmas cards, our Dental cards, a home mortgage statement, and a letter telling us how to get to Kaleigh's MD appt on Jan 7th. It was kind of a relief because I was wondering where our dental cards had gotten to-we have appts in 4 days! It was also nice to get the Christmas cards-even if they were 3 months late!

Easter at the Peterson's House

It was a wonderful Easter spent with various family members from both sides. We hosted at our house to ease the burden of traveling with 4 kids. That and we didn't have a nurse for Jazmin so it would have been a ton of work. We had a simple lunch that everyone added something to, and it was good. There were Easter baskets everywhere, too many to count. The kids all had a blast playing with the grown ups, and vice-versa. Now it's quiet at our house, the kids are all taking late naps, and I should be cleaning up all the grass from the baskets and putting away dishes, but I wanted to share pictures before I get too busy and forget.

Two "Geezers" and a Cutie

Jacob sure loves his grandpas!

Adorable baby Braeden

Happy first Easter big guy! We're so glad you could spend it with us.

Daddy Returns from Texas

Joel returned late last evening from his business trip to Texas. Ryan stayed up way past his bedtime to welcome him home. He was so excited when he saw the truck pull into the driveway. Joel brought some souvenirs for the boys....a couple pairs of cowboy boots. He looked everywhere and couldn't find them in a size small enough, until he went to a specialty shop. I think it's called Walmart. Some of you may have heard of it, some not but he said it was great....they had everything there! Anyway, the boys have a hard time walking in them, they look like they just got off a horse. It was tough to get pictures, so bear with me.

A kid update.....

I thought I would fill people in as to how all the kids are doing, so here goes.
Ryan is talking up a storm (not sure where he gets that from). He is Mommy's little helper and truly a joy to be around. He never ceases to amaze me at how smart he is and the things he comes up with, good or bad. He definitely tests my patience on a regular basis and isn't always the nicest to his little brother. But I guess that's to be expected from a 2 year old.
Jacob is cruising around like he's been walking his whole life. He has even tried to run....didn't work out so well. He has started to pick up the sign language we've been teaching him. He now signs more, please, and all done. He is a little lover to everyone, and always has his little goofy grin that you can't help but smile back at. On the other hand, he's picked up some of his brother's naughty tricks, and since he can't communicate very well with us, he screams anytime he wants something.
Kaleigh is well over 9lbs now. She's finally grown out of newborn clothes and fits into 0-3 month size. She'll be 6months on Easter. She has a pretty little smile and a dimple on her right cheek. She's really starting to develop her personality, and temper! She wants to be held ALL the time. It's been a bit challenging trying to "teach" her to self-soothe. But we'll get there.
Jazmin is sticking around for a few more weeks. We're very excited about this. She's such a pleasant child to have around. She's starting to get stronger from her RSV and we hope to get her back off the vent during the day again soon. She gets frustrated being "tied" to a 9 foot tubing, especially since she knows what it's like to have the freedom to roam. She can light up a room in an instant with her smile. Jake and Jaz are good friends and love to play with each other.
It's usually pretty chaotic around the house, but we love it. It's hard to have a bad day when you are surrounded by 4 great kids that smile and play and love unconditionally.

A crazy friend

This morning, we went to a friends house for an Easter egg hunt. There were 17 kids under the age 5 (4 babies not in the picture) playing in her house, looking for eggs, and later having lunch. It was absolute chaos! It was fun to watch them all play together though.

Amatuer Photographer

Ryan likes to take pictures. Most of the time we aren't able to figure out what they are of. This time he actually got a few good ones! Joel isn't actually using the toilet....Jake's in the tub, you just can't see him:)

Bubble Boy!!

Jake absolutely loves his bubbles! We got him a bubble blower machine for his 1st birthday, and we use it every night in the tub-bub.

Because I can....

I'm allowed to put these cute pictures up cuz it's my blog and I can do whatever I want on it!! Besides, who doesn't want to see pictures of the 3 cutest guys in my life?

Room for one more?

Where am I supposed to sleep?

Ryan loves his cousin Braeden

Lately Ryan has been really into holding the babies in his life. He always wants to hold Kaleigh, and when Danny and Braeden came over for a visit, he wanted to hold him too. Later while Dan was changing Braeden's clothes, he got upset and started to cry and squirm (Braeden...not Danny). Ryan leaned forward and said "It's okay Braeden" "It's okay cousin"and then caressed his face. Looks like Ryan will be following his mommy's footsteps when it comes to a love of children.

Helping Uncle Danny

These guys are great helpers!

Taz strikes again...(sound familiar?)

It's been a bit chaotic around the house with the flu, the new addition of Jaz and her nurses, and just life in general. I kept meaning to type up some "house rules" for the nurses. This is a standard part of the chart when you have a child with nursing care in your home. Anyway, I hadn't gotten around to it yet, but I had voiced a few rules to the nurses. One being that it's very important to keep the bathroom door shut and latched. Ryan and Jake have been getting into the lotion, toilet paper, and anything else they can get their hands on. Go figure, it was me who left the door open, and the boys got into the bathroom. Ryan had a ton of fun making Jakey powder white. It was a huge mess, and baths had to be re-taken to get it all out of the hair. Little stinkers!

Would you believe another illness.....

It's hard to believe there is any virus left to go thru our home, but somehow we managed to find one. Joel, and I tested positive for Influenza A. Ryan has it too, but the MD didn't feel the need to subject him to the horrible test. They stick a q-tip in your nose all the way to what feels like your tonsils. So, now Joel, Me, Ryan, Jacob, and Jaz are all on Tamiflu to help get past it. Kaleigh is too young to be on it, and it looks like she's coming down with it. Poor baby, on a more positive note, she weighed in at 8.9lbs! Unfortunately most of the nurses that take care of Jaz have been exposed, and some are starting to get sick. My mom came up to see her boys and help out for a few days and....she's sick too. It's a nasty bug, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.